Will you marry me?
by lookingforpaperstars
Summary: Mike proposes to Miranda. Gary proposes to Miranda. Which one will she go with? (Rated T just to be safe - suggested themes)
1. Popping the question

"Will you marry me?" Mike slowly lowered down onto one knee and held up a ring. Miranda stared at it, dumbfounded. One minute, she was snogging Gary, and the next she was stood in the restaurant with Mike in front of her proposing?! In the words of Miranda's mother: it's what I call, a nightmare.

"Uhm, I…" Miranda tried to form a sentence, tried to form the feelings that were running through her mind – but the thing was, she couldn't even figure out how she was feeling. How _was _she feeling? She loved Gary, she absolutely adored him. But he seemed extremely hesitant to be with her. He seemed almost reluctant to be with her. But she knew he was feeling something for her; but what? What was going on in that complex, chef like mind of his?!

Before Miranda could even register what was going on, she suddenly became aware that Gary was now stood behind her; looking baffled, confused and downright hurt. He felt pretty much the same as Miranda, then.

"Miranda?" he whispered softly to her, looking between Mike and Miranda; and then round the people that were surrounding. Miranda turned a little on her heel, half facing Mike – her love that she never really loved after all – and Gary – the man who she had loved for more years than anyone could remember. She looked between them both, before finally settling her gaze on Gary. "Gary I-" she whispered quietly, her voice trembling a little as she tried to regain bravery – as if she actually had any of that in the first place – attempting to do the right thing and get the outcome that, for once, she would like and be happy with. But, deep down, she feared that Gary wouldn't want anything in the lines of a relationship. Miranda didn't want to be in permanent spinsterhood, but then, she knew it wasn't right saying yes to Mike when really, he wasn't the one she loved.

Right at that very moment, just as Gary sunk down onto one knee, she found herself wishing to curl up unto her duvet. A duvet cocoon, if you will.

"Will you marry me?" Gary spat out quickly, his eyes glimmering with all sorts of emotions; ones that Miranda, in a state of shock and pure confusion, couldn't make sense of. Her jaw dropped slightly, and she stared at him – more dumbfounded than she stared at Mike when he proposed to her first.

"You're just saying that…" Miranda spat out before she could stop herself, and she rolled her eyes, turning to face the camera for a moment. "Well this is going well. Help!" she whispered, gesturing around a little with a little head movement.

It took Gary a little while to reply, perhaps a few minutes, but when he did the words came out a jumbled, almost incoherent mess. "No, Miranda, I'm not just saying it. The truth is, I've loved you ever since I can properly remember. And even though I'm scared and a little apprehensive right now, I'll get over it. Because I love you. I love how you make a fool of yourself in public, I love how you babble. I love how you're a complete and utter numpty, I just love everything about you. Mike, I'm sorry, but I love Miranda more than you ever could, and I know the real Miranda. I know the Miranda that she has been trying so hard to hide from you all this time – and that Miranda is the one I love." He took a pause, and inhaled harshly. "Marry me, Miranda."

In the time that Gary had been speaking, Miranda's jaw had dropped considerably, and her eyes had widened. That was certainly an outcome she wasn't expecting. In the background, both Gary and Mike could hear her mother yelling: "IT DOESN'T MATTER WHICH ONE YOU CHOOSE, MIRANDA! JUST HURRY UP BEFORE THEY CHANGE THEIR MINDS!" Miranda quickly turned round and shushed her mother, before turning back round to Gary. She remained silent for a few more moments, completely oblivious to everything aside from her and Gary. She was even oblivious to Mike standing up and turning on his heel to depart from the restaurant. Everyone was oblivious, really. They had all waited for them to admit they loved each other, and now the time had arrived, it didn't seem real.

Silence had now fallen in the restaurant, and the entire place was quieter than it had been since its opening. Until…

"Yes, Gary, I'll marry you." Miranda spoke boldly, proudly, happily for once – not hedging around the subject, not babbling words that weren't necessary. For once, it was straight to the point.

"What?" whispered Gary, confused; thinking he had heard wrongly, thinking his mind was playing cruel tricks on him.

"Yes, Gary, I'll marry you. I love you with all of my heart, Gary Preston." She whispered, and before she could even finish her sentence, Gary had leapt up and had taken Miranda into his arms, holding her close, before pulling away slightly to press his lips to hers in a passionate, content kiss, his eyes fluttering closed.

"I love you," they both mumbled together clumsily against each other's lips whilst everyone cheered and clapped them, whilst Stevie shouted "WAY TO GO MIRANDA!"

This was, afterall, what everyone had been waiting for – and no one, particularly Gary and Miranda, could be happier.

AN: Expect another post from this fic coming soon! I have major Miranda x Gary feels. Review please! :D Constructive criticism only please. 3


	2. Alone at last

Miranda and Gary, after getting rather sick of being crowded at the restaurant, had decided to go back to Miranda's flat to sort things out, to iron things out. But, in reality, no talking had been done – all they had been doing were devouring each other and kissing and cuddling and holding each other. They had been kissing for quite some time, now, and both needed some air.

Pulling away from the kiss, Miranda found herself sporting one of the biggest grins she had ever worn. She had never felt this happy in her entire life. Never, ever. Not even during her dreams of doing this with Gary, because she thought that it would never happen – but now, much to her pleasure, she had proved herself wrong. Miranda slowly turned her head to the left, and glanced into the camera. "I can't stop smiling. Someone help!" she mouthed the words, before chuckling slightly and turning back to the love of her love – the love of her life that now loved her back, the love of her life that she was now engaged to. Engaged! Now, that was something that she never saw coming – and certainly something that her mother, and her entire family and friendship group for that matter, never saw coming. Something that, no doubt, Gary didn't see coming either. That thought made her giggle slightly, and this roused Gary's attention, causing his eyebrow to rise.

"What's so funny?" he asked sceptically, cocking his head to the left a little bit in wonderment.

"It's just that. No. I mean, it's just. Well. It's just that I never actually imagined you proposing – well, I imagined it many a time, I mean, it was in my dreams all the -" She cut herself off and flushed a bright pink colour, and she shook her head. "What I mean is, I never actually saw this coming. But it's making me feel so happy, that I can't help but giggle. It's just… The best feeling, Gary. Do you understand what I mean?"

Gary, by this point, was chuckling a little at Miranda's babbling. Even times like this wouldn't stop her being the awkward woman he knew and loved with all of his heart. He loved her more than anything, truth be told. "I do understand what you mean, beyond all of the babbling…" he flipped her a cheeky wink, and this made Miranda giggle.

"Ooh, naughty!" she instantly blurted out, without thinking, which caused both of them to collapse in a fit of giggles – hysterical laughter, actually. They kept falling into one another, collapsing onto one another in giggles, and eventually, the laughter stopped. Seriousness fell over the couple once more, and the atmosphere around them shifted and changed, because they were no longer playfully flopping onto one another in laughter. No. They had manoeuvred themselves so much that Miranda was laid on her back on the couch, and Gary was positioned just on top of her. They were looking into each other's eyes, deeply, passionately, looking at what the other was feeling – sharing each other's feelings and emotions silently.

"Your eyes are beautiful," Gary whispered to Miranda, who was staring into his eyes dotingly – as she had done in her dreams many a time.

"You're just… You're just…" she paused in order to attempt to gather her words properly and to actually figure out what she wanted to say – she needed to stop starting to speak without actually knowing where she was going with it – but eventually she settled for: "Unf."

This caused laughter once more, but it was only brief. It wasn't like before. There was something serious lingering in the air, now, and both Miranda and Gary were aware of it. But by no means was it a bad serious. It wasn't a negative kind of serious; "get out." It wasn't that kind. No. It was the passionate kind of serious; where to people, who after finally admitting their true feelings to one another, decide to show their love in a different, more physical way.

And for once, Miranda had gotten this far – unlike with Mike – without wanting to absolutely wet herself laughing, or run to the hills screaming. She felt ready, for once, because she knew it was with the right person and under the right circumstances. She was with the man she loved, the man she knew she was going to be spending the rest of her life with. She was so ready, she could barely handle it.

It was Gary's lips against hers that brought Miranda out of her brief stupor. She began to kiss back instantly, softly, yet passionately; both of their eyes flicking closed in unison. Miranda's hands came up to rest on the small of Gary's back, and Gary's hands rested upon Miranda's hips as the kiss began to become more heated, their lips slowly parting, their tongues slowly uniting and dancing against one another.

Just as they were beginning to feel extremely hot – not just in general, but for each other – Gary pulled away from the kiss and Miranda instantly whispered:

"Bedroom?"

**AN: Since the rating for this fanfiction is as low as it is, I'm going to skip out the sex. I don't fancy getting told off for wrongly rating a fic. Anyway, if you do want to read the sex portion – I will be uploading a separate fanfic with that part in it. I just wanted it to appeal to all audiences, this way.  
I'm so delighted about the positive reviews that I'm getting so far. It's a real honour to be getting this from you guys, it really is! I'm glad you're enjoying it as much as you are, too.**


	3. The morning after

**A/N: If you would like to read the "deleted scene" of this fanfic, just nip to my profile and it'll be right there. This is the last chapter of this story, but I will be writing more for this couple sometime in the very near future. The positive feedback that I have gained for this story is absolutely amazing, and it has inspired me to write more. Thank you!**

The following morning, Miranda is the first to wake. She slowly rises from her sleep, stretches, groans and then relaxes back into the curled up position she was in before. She instantly remembers what happened the night before, and she slowly turns her head – thus not to disturb Gary – and looks at the sleeping male next to her. A small smile comes to her lips, and her eyes glimmer with happiness. Unwrapping his arm from around her waist, she slowly rises from the bed and slowly pads from the room, quietly shutting the door behind her after checking she hadn't woken Gary. She padded into the heart of the room, the lounge, and slowly sat down upon the couch.

"Well, good morning to you my old chum! What a veritable thrill to see you again," she speaks in a genuinely happy voice, and for once in her life, she doesn't feel the need to turn to fruit friends to make her feel happy. For once, she isn't running down to see Stevie; who, up until now, was the only one in her life that made her truly feel loved, even if it was just a friend. "Would you like a biscuit?" She mused, reaching to pick the packet of biscuits left on the table, extending her arm in an offering motion, before withdrawing it again. "Sorry, they're mine!" She flipped a wink, before going back to the original point.  
"So, let me get you up to speed. Previously in my life, there was quite the mess. First, Gary confesses how he feels to me. Over the moon! Then, when I went back to the restaurant to greet Gary, I suggested telling everyone about us – I couldn't help it, I was over excited! – And Gary completely froze. Totally put me back into a pit of sadness; but at least I knew he loved me, so we could at least salvage that. Then, as if it couldn't get any more messed up, Mike walks into the room and gets down on one knee!" she scoffs and shakes her head slowly. "I mean, it was a nice gesture, my mother was certainly keen about it… But then again, she did try and sell me off once…" she pauses. "Anyway, that's beside the point! After seeing that, Gary moves behind me and proposes, too, and I just completely froze. Mother told me to just pick one randomly and say yes – but how could I? I wasn't sure if Gary really meant what he had said, or if he just didn't want me to say yes to Mike. But I love Gary so much, how could I say no to him? It would've been wrong to say yes to Mike… I don't feel anything for him. I mean, I see him as a friend; but you don't marry friends, do you? But then, just as I was losing complete hope, Gary told me that he wasn't just saying it. So I said yes!" Miranda does a little victory-like dance, before calming back down again. "We came back to the flat, and, one thing lead to another and we had…" she leans in a little, and mumbles, "sex!" She looks proud of herself, and she slowly leans back on the couch. "I'm mature." She purrs lightly, before sitting up and standing up, all in one fluid movement. "I want to wake him up. Is that bad?" she asks, though the question (since no one can answer) is rhetorical.

Deciding that no, it's not bad wanting to wake your partner up, she pads into the bedroom, slowly opens the door and makes her way to the bed. She sits upon the edge of it, and slowly extends and arm. Her hand briefly rests on his cheek, before sliding down a little. "Morning," she whispers softly, and smiles as Gary wakes and sees her, sitting up slowly.

"I can't believe what happened last night," are his first words, and Miranda panics for a moment – until she sees the huge grin upon his face; and she can't help but mirror it.

"Me neither, Gary." She responds coolly, her smile never fading.

"We have forever together, now. Forever and always." He whispers, slowly extending his arm to take her hand in his, squeezing it tightly.  
"To do whatever we want; to take our time, to rush. To make everything our kind of perfect."

"I look forward to it." She whispers, and it's true. She's deeply looking forward to it – actually, she can barely contain her excitement. Her heart is fluttering heavily at the thought of living the rest of her life with Gary Preston. Becoming Mrs Preston… Oh, bliss!

Gary leans into Miranda, and presses a soft kiss upon her lips, pulling her out of her daydream, before flopping back down in the bed and bringing Miranda with him. With that, they remain curled up for the rest of the day, discussing how the rest of their lives are going to go. They know that it's going to be perfect, there's no doubt about it. But, what exactly will happen to these two?

**A/N: Will be doing a direct continuation of this fic set a couple of years later sometime this week. Look forward to it, guys! I hope you enjoyed this last chapter. **


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